The Digital Deep Dive With Aaron Conant

Chris Bruderle is the Vice President of Industry Insights and Content Strategy at the Internal Advertising Bureau (IAB), which empowers the media and marketing industries to thrive in the digital economy. As a web analytics, market research, advertising, and content expert, he has over 10 years of experience mining data and collecting insights for various web publishers. In this episode… Retail media and CTV are the key drivers of growth in the digital advertising ecosystem. However, with consumer privacy regulations hindering targeting efforts, brands must maintain compliance while gathering insights. What should you know about the evolving digital media space, and how can you profit from it? Digital media researcher Chris Bruderle recommends partnering with retail media networks to obtain consumer insights in a privacy-compliant manner. Once you’ve gathered data from your target demographic, upload the information to a data clean room to remove sensitive material. Retailers can also integrate their first-party data and offer feedback and results-driven metrics. Leveraging CTV advertising is essential for profitability in the digital landscape, so Chris advises developing and adapting shoppable videos, QSR codes, and sponsored ads on streaming networks to encourage action from consumers. In today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant welcomes Chris Bruderle, IAB’s Vice President of Industry Insights and Content Strategy, for a discussion about the exponential growth of retail media and CTV. Chris addresses the integration of CTV and retail and social media, his predictions for live digital shopping, and how to maximize retail media spend.

Jacob Cooke is the Co-founder and CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, a leading eCommerce and technology consultancy driving growth for global brands in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Under his leadership, the firm has built an expansive solution set in data analytics, eCommerce activations and store management, brand strategy, creative campaigns, merchandising, and more. Having lived in Beijing since 2003, Jacob frequently contributes to Bloomberg on eCommerce, retail, and technology trends in China. In this episode… As sales growth in the US declines, brands are launching in the China and APAC markets to drive additional sales. eCommerce is a profitable market in China, with 50% of retail sales occurring online and 80% influenced by social platforms. What should you know about China’s eCommerce market, and how can you launch products there? As consumers focus more on health and wellness, categories like supplements, outdoor wear, and appliances have expanded significantly in Asian markets. With deep expertise in China market trends, Jacob Cooke emphasizes launching with an exclusive online strategy and innovating in these categories to demonstrate value to consumers. Partner with experienced agencies, leverage influencers, and live stream videos on Chinese platforms like Douyin to develop a widespread presence in these markets. Join Aaron Conant for another episode of The Digital Deep Dive as he interviews Jacob Cooke, the Co-founder and CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, about breaking into the China eCommerce market. Jacob explains how to drive sales and target consumer demographics, the costs of launching in the market, and the difference between China, Japan, and South Korean markets.

Michael Zakkour is the Founder and Chief Strategist at 5 New Digital, a consultancy that advises clients on strategy, structure, implementation, and transformation in the digital realm. Michael has over 20 years of experience in eCommerce, specializing in digital transformation, data science, the China/APAC market, digital commerce, and new retail strategy. He is also the Founder and Managing Director of China BrightStar, LLC. As an author and speaker, Michael has been interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, NPR, the BBC, and many other media outlets. In this episode… Younger generations like Gen Alpha interact with commerce brands by balancing physical and digital interactions, playing video games like Fortnite and Roblox while socializing with friends. This online and offline integration has initiated a new retail class, where brands must amplify the shopping experience to reach younger audiences. How can you leverage immersive and experiential commerce to excel in the new digital age? With consumers becoming disinterested in two-dimensional shopping experiences, traditional eCommerce is underperforming. According to digital thought leader Michael Zakkour, eCommerce’s pervasive presence has led consumers to desire more meaningful interactions. Immersive commerce integrates live streams, shoppable videos, virtual environments, and avatars to create engaging and pragmatic experiences. Capitalizing on modern retail requires identifying top-performing digital tools and channels and developing a video commerce strategy involving streaming and live shopping videos with real-time purchasing options. Tune in to the latest Digital Deep Dive episode as Aaron Conant welcomes Michael Zakkour, the Founder and Chief Strategist at Five New Digital, back to the show to discuss leveraging immersive commerce to engage younger generations. Michael shares actionable steps for success in the new digital realm, the importance of interactive video content, and how to optimize your budget for experiential commerce.

Steven Moy is the CEO of Barbarian, a leading creative digital advertising agency. Throughout his career, Steven has worked on large-scale digital transformation initiatives for global brands, including American Express, McDonald’s, CVS Health, and AT&T. Since joining Barbarian in 2019, he has significantly reshaped the agency by launching its first global office, adding new clients, and initiating new business practices. In this episode… According to a recent study conducted by Insider Intelligence, social media is the first touch point for over 40% of consumers under 30. These younger generations consume hours of high-velocity, compelling content, prompting brands to compete for attention. How can you produce large volumes of creative content to target digital-first generations? As an early adopter of digital during the dot-com bubble, Steven Moy endorses attention economics, which forces brands to capture consumers’ limited attention spans on fast-paced, content-rich platforms like TikTok. Highly targeted content captures consumers within the first second and communicates value propositions in the following three to four seconds. To reach younger generations effectively, Steven recommends hiring college students to create engaging short-form videos that resonate with audiences. In today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant welcomes Steven Moy, the CEO of Barbarian, to discuss creating content for digital-first generations. Steven explains how to adapt to the digital paradigm shift, AI and the metaverse’s roles in the creative process, and how to budget for rapid content creation.

Brad Dey is the President of Dey’s End Consulting LLC, a full-service certified Shopify Plus partner focused on solving eCommerce and operational challenges. He has experience working on enterprise-level projects in financial services at Fortune 100 and 200 companies. As an eCommerce solutions architect, Brad has had CIO-level involvement at some of the world’s largest eCommerce companies. In this episode… At the height of Q4, profitability remains top of mind for many Shopify brands. As you evaluate new integrations and tools, how can you drive sales while managing demand challenges? Rather than exhausting resources by upgrading your front-end tech stack, eCommerce solutions consultant Brad Dey encourages brands to focus on optimizing their back-end operations to ensure sufficient demand. As you prepare for the holidays, manage your inventory by identifying your highest and lowest-selling products to determine discounted items. This allows you to develop an ideal cost structure for your 3PLs. With consumers purchasing and returning multiple sizes and variations of one product, you must develop systems to mitigate the resulting profit loss. Consider leveraging a sizing tool to provide customers with accurate sizes, boost loyalty, and improve experiences. Tune in to this episode of The Digital Deep Dive as Aaron Conant hosts Brad Dey, the President of Dey’s End Consulting LLC, who shares strategies for a profitable Q4 on Shopify. Brad explains how he conducts tech stack audits, Shopify’s new releases and functions, and how to integrate Buy with Prime and Shopify.

Meghan Corroon is the Founder and CEO of Clerdata, a marketing intelligence platform that drives sales. As a data scientist, she has completed data science research for several national governments in Africa. Before founding Clerdata, Meghan was the Technical Director for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation portfolio evaluation. In this episode… Incrementality has become imperative in distributing retail media spend and measuring sales growth from marketing efforts. With so many trending advertising channels and retailers, brands often invest in each one simultaneously, creating data silos and inhibiting visibility into top-performing platforms. How can you measure incremental ROI holistically? In today’s volatile economy, consumers are spending less money, so brands must invest in their shoppers’ most frequented platforms. According to data enthusiast Meghan Corroon, this requires evaluating your channel budgets and resulting performance to make real-time, data-driven decisions. After performing a comprehensive analysis, brands often find they’ve invested too much money in underperforming channels. By reducing your budget for low-engagement platforms, you can measure impacted sales growth to identify your most profitable networks and boost ROI. Tune in to this episode of The Digital Deep Dive as Aaron Conant invites Meghan Corroon, the Co-founder and CEO of Clerdata, to speak about measuring incremental sales growth on retail media networks. Meghan explains the importance of incrementality, real-time marketing analytics, and how the evolution of retail media has impacted brand growth.

Lauren Livak Gilbert is the Director of the Digital Shelf Institute (DSI), which shapes the future of digital and advances commerce through community, content, and education. In her role, she defines the strategy for creating a global industry commerce community to support brands, retailers, and future leaders in the complex digital environment. As a thought leader in digital and design, Lauren has experience driving impactful multi-channel design content, transformative digital shelf solutions, and high-conversion web UX designs across multiple regions. Before DSI, she held numerous roles at Johnson & Johnson, where she owned the digital shelf for consumer products in North America. In this episode… Digital and eCommerce are necessary capabilities for brands, but integrating them at scale has become increasingly complicated. Some organizations position these functions in their IT departments, whereas others incorporate them in marketing or sales. How should you consider digital’s role in organizational structures? Digital shelf expert Lauren Livak says that while you may integrate eCommerce into your IT department initially, it must expand throughout the business. Evaluating your organizational structure helps you determine its primary focus and consolidate digital capabilities within the specified area and the remaining departments. This should include cross-functional collaboration and involve every member of the company. With retail media extending throughout all major merchandisers, connecting your advertising efforts to digital is crucial. When considering eCommerce’s position in your business objectives, prioritize your investments to target consumers in their most frequented channels rather than distributing your ad spend based on industry trends. In today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant chats with Lauren Livak Gilbert, the Director of the Digital Shelf Institute, about digital’s place in organizational structures. Lauren talks about the barriers to rapid eCommerce acceleration, key shifts in organizational structures, and how to implement digital into business departments.

Tom Logan is the Co-founder and CEO of Cohley, a content generation and testing platform that helps brands create content for social ads, email marketing, websites, and more. Tom is also a member of Founders Pledge, an initiative enabling philanthropy among founders and investors. Before founding Cohley, Tom was the Director of Customer Development at Piqora and a Client Success Manager for Wildfire by Google. In this episode… According to digital studies, 70% of in-store purchases occur from online product research. With this integration of retail and digital commerce, consumers desire authentic, interactive content. How can you optimize your product detail pages to emphasize the voice of the shopper? As consumer shopping habits expand to both online and in-store channels, content tester Tom Logan says you must diversify content to target shoppers on their chosen platforms. Product reviews are one of the most reliable conversion drivers, so curating and emphasizing positive reviews on your PDPs is critical. You can generate authoritative content from reviews by launching product unboxing and testing videos on multiple social channels. While many brands leverage influencers to create these videos, Tom recommends using loyal customers to shift the focus from brand awareness to the voice of the shopper. Join Aaron Conant in today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive as he welcomes the Co-founder and CEO of Cohley, Tom Logan, back to the show to discuss optimizing content for the shopper. Tom shares how brands can leverage authentic UGC content, how to optimize reviews to drive purchasing decisions, and considerations for generating creative content for retail media.

Tom Hileman is the Managing Partner of Digital at Global Prairie, a purpose-driven marketing firm crafting business-building solutions. He was the former President of Hileman Group, which was acquired by Global Prairie. Tom has more than 20 years of experience in the marketing and information technology space. Through various management roles and experience with organizations such as Microsoft, Oracle, and IBM, he specializes in leveraging solutions for business growth and success. In this episode… The healthcare space collects more data about its consumers than any other industry. Additionally, healthcare has the most human error, with the second leading cause of death occurring at the hands of medical professionals. AI, automation, and other machine learning tools can rectify this issue and streamline the patient experience. How is the healthcare industry leveraging these technologies? From operating scanning technology and analyzing patient charts to disseminating data for advertising campaigns, AI is transforming the healthcare industry. With copious data in various locations, these tools can gather, organize, manage, and store it to provide personalized patient care. However, the government has enacted strict regulations, with IP addresses and other forms of PII (personally identifiable information) being classified as PHI (protected health information). While healthcare marketers are largely restricted from collecting information for retargeting and remarketing, digital healthcare expert Tom Hileman says they can utilize this data to offer customized educational resources. By assessing and mitigating bias in machine learning, you can prioritize patient care based on needs and reduce human error. In today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant sits down with Tom Hileman, the Managing Partner of Digital at Global Prairie, to talk about the role of digital tools in healthcare. Tom describes AI’s impact on patients and healthcare marketers, why you should be an active participant in your healthcare journey, and the leading digital trends in healthcare.

Tamara Alesi is the CEO of Mediaplus, a leading independent and partner-managed media agency. With 20 years of experience in media and marketing, she has led award-winning campaigns for notable companies, including Apple and L'Oréal. Tamara has been recognized as an industry thought leader by Adweek, eMarketer, and the Interactive Advertising Bureau. She is also a Member of Chief, a private network supporting senior women leaders. In this episode… As consumers become increasingly sophisticated, brands have integrated online and in-store retail for a holistic experience. With eCommerce’s pervasive presence in today’s consumer-led landscape, how can you develop an advertising and media strategy to drive purchasing decisions? Whether shopping online or in-store, consumers want a simple and accelerated experience, and with so many retail channels available, media-buying thought leader Tamara Alesi says brands must adapt to an omnichannel environment to grow their market share. Capturing consumer engagement and intent on these channels requires researching your category, recognizing customer behavior and habits, and identifying the channels with the most consumption. When allocating ad spend and creating marketing campaigns, you can measure results through relevance rather than focusing on reach. On today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Tamara Alesi, the CEO of Mediaplus, joins Aaron Conant to talk about adapting your media strategy for the omnipresent eCommerce age. Tamara shares why brands should collaborate with agency partners, pressing marketing trends and challenges, and TikTok’s evolution from a social platform to a search engine.

Todd Hassenfelt is the eCommerce Director of Growth Strategy and Planning at Colgate-Palmolive, an innovative growth company that reimagines a healthier future for people, pets, and the planet. He has extensive leadership experience in brick-and-mortar and eCommerce channels, serving as a leader on both sales and marketing teams. Todd has also sold some of the top brands in the US to multiple channels, including C-store, mass merchandisers, wholesale clubs, supermarkets, and eCommerce. As an eCommerce and content contributor, his articles appear in publications, including BRAVE Commerce, Ecommerce Braintrust, and The Digital Shelf Cast. In this episode… Creating engaging content for the digital shelf is more demanding than ever as it requires refining strategies consistently to maintain relevancy and drive conversions. Generative and other AI tools allow content creators to test various approaches and gain actionable insights from the results. How can you optimize your digital shelf content using AI? According to digital strategist Todd Hassenfelt, private, beta, generative AI tools like Ask Profitero allow you to integrate KPI data from the digital shelf, including availability, retailers, search terms, ratings, reviews, pricing, and promotions. Additionally, you can input prompts to enhance and iterate variations of PDP content with descriptions, bullet points, images, and videos. With in-store and online shopping experiences becoming increasingly centralized and brands losing consumers to competitors, optimizing your PDPs for physical screens and leveraging an AI-driven scoring system to rank content is imperative. Join Aaron Conant in today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive as he welcomes Todd Hassenfelt, the eCommerce Director of Growth Strategy and Planning at Colgate-Palmolive, back to the show to discuss AI content optimization for the digital shelf. Todd shares how to create content prompts for the digital shelf, the difference between generative and traditional AI, and how to leverage generative AI to summarize product reviews and ratings.

Kevin Weiss is the Vice President of Retail Media at Skai, which powers digital advertising and market intelligence for the world’s top brands and agencies. As an executive eCommerce leader, he has helped enterprise, mid-market, SMB, and emerging businesses with their marketing efforts. Before Skai, Kevin was the VP of Growth and Strategy at Amplio Digital, where he facilitated the company’s acquisition in 2020. In this episode… The ever-evolving retail media ecosystem has led digital marketers to experience FOMO (fear of missing out). With incrementality as a coveted retail media trend, brands are looking to incorporate it into their advertising campaigns. But this concept lacks a well-defined, universal meaning. Despite these inconsistencies, how can you harness incrementality to optimize your retail media strategy? According to marketing industry thought leader Kevin Weiss, incrementality is subjective. Rather than following a linear process, achieving revenue results with this trend depends on unique brand strategies and goals. Determining an optimal level of incrementality requires identifying your desired growth metrics. For instance, you may benchmark incrementality against share-of-voice, top-line sales, or gross margins. Additionally, each retailer offers distinct advertising features and measurements, so you must analyze individual criteria to maximize profit. In today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant talks with Kevin Weiss, the VP of Retail Media at Skai, who offers clarity on incrementality in the retail media space. Kevin shares foundational strategies for incremental retail media advertising, how to run ads to boost product rankings, and the benefits of product holdout testing for retail media.

Rick Watson is the CEO and Founder of RMW Commerce Consulting, which provides eCommerce strategy consulting to help businesses accelerate their go-to-market processes. Rick founded the company after spending more than 20 years as a technology entrepreneur and operator in the eCommerce industry with companies including ChannelAdvisor, BarnesandNoble.com, and Pitney Bowes. During a partnership with WHP Global, he was a critical resource in architecting the WHP+ platform, a turnkey DTC digital eCommerce platform powering AnneKlein.com and JosephAbboud.com. Rick hosts The Watson Weekly podcast, where he shares his unbiased, expert take on the retail sector’s biggest news and executives. As a television and conference speaker, he has been featured on national news programs and many retail-focused industry events. In this episode… Amazon Prime Day results predict how well the company will perform in Q4. If Prime Day sales are strong, it suggests that consumers are spending money and that Amazon is still a popular destination for online shopping. A lucrative Prime Day could lead to substantial sales in Q4, which is typically the most critical quarter for retailers. However, Rick Watson, an eCommerce strategist, explains there are other factors to consider when interpreting Prime Day results. Prime Day is a promotional event that can be a false indicator of how well Amazon will perform regularly. To remain ahead of the competition, the retailer must consider that its competitors will likely offer deep discounts, too. In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant welcomes the Founder and CEO of RMW Commerce Consulting, Rick Watson, back to the podcast for a holiday preview of Q4. Rick and Aaron also address growth trajectories for Amazon and brick-and-mortar, how deep discounts affect company profitability, and how re-platforming affects integration and headless eCommerce.

Jordan Brannon is the President of Coalition Technologies, a company that provides SEO services in digital marketing, design, web development, and PPC advertising. Jordan’s expertise in digital strategies has shaped his career for more than a decade, where he focused on developing solutions that allow for more qualified leads, better traffic conversion, and SEO optimization. In this episode… Shopify is pivoting to compete with prominent online marketplaces like Amazon and Walmart. This summer, the platform has released many new offerings, including AI products with an emphasis on entrepreneurs and small businesses. With so many retail options and capabilities on the market, how can you determine if Shopify is right for your business? As Shopify gains dominance in the market, the platform has positioned itself as a leading choice for brands by solving their most pressing challenges. Yet with this authority, Shopify can market to any audience, forcing brands to share their customers. For some companies, this is a viable growth opportunity, but others struggle to demonstrate value. With deep insight into eCommerce marketplace performance, Jordan Brannon recommends viewing Shopify as a separate strategy from your website storefront to acquire diverse audiences. Digitally native brands with engaging content and strong marketing campaigns benefit significantly from this platform. In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive, President of Coalition Technologies Jordan Brannon returns to speak with Aaron Conant about Shopify’s growth. Jordan shares advice for transitioning to alternative platforms, unique use cases for AI, and Shopify’s plans to expand its offerings.

Declan Kearney is the CEO and Founder of Digital Commerce Global (DCG), a company empowering brand leaders to make informed decisions on investing in digital commerce capabilities. He is also an advisor for private equity and venture capital firms. With over 20 years of experience, Declan has seen the ever-evolving landscape of eCommerce and has been at the forefront of driving success for consumer brands. Having witnessed the successes and failures of consumer brands’ efforts to optimize online sales and market share, Declan pioneers industry standards in digital commerce capabilities. Before DCG, he was the Managing Director of Ascential. In this episode… In 2022, digital commerce grew by 8.9%, making omnichannel strategies pivotal to brand success. Yet the high-growth turbulence has forced executive teams to focus on supply chain disturbances and budget cuts, preventing them from integrating eCommerce capabilities. How can you consolidate your approaches to benchmark them effectively? With firsthand involvement in Asia’s digital commerce market, Declan Kearney recognizes that brands’ most pressing concerns involve communication discrepancies between executive teams, selecting tech stacks, and navigating the digital divide. He recommends articulating cross-functional channel strategies throughout your organization. Additionally, brands often analyze ineffective metrics when rationalizing tech stacks for their eCommerce strategies, so assessing comparable markets is crucial in identifying traffic and developing new benchmarks. In today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant talks with Declan Kearney, the Founder and CEO of Digital Commerce Global (DCG), about establishing metrics for eCommerce capabilities. Declan shares why you should support digital teams in eCommerce efforts, Amazon’s influence on digital commerce, and top benchmarks for retail media.

Chase Alderton is the Senior Partner and Field Marketing Manager at Recharge, which helps merchants launch and scale their subscription businesses by turning one-time buyers into loyal repeat customers. In his role, he works with the Recharge Agency Partner network. Chase has held multiple positions at Recharge, including Marketing Associate and Partner Marketing Manager. He also hosts the Hit Subscribe podcast, which shares stories of entrepreneurs scaling eCommerce businesses. In this episode… Customer lifetime value and retention remain top-of-mind as brands spend their advertising dollars generating website leads and conversions. Subscription programs are optimal for acquiring customer loyalty, but companies must structure them accordingly to accelerate profitability. How should you leverage subscriptions for your business model? eCommerce professional Chase Alderton observes three distinct types of subscription models. Subscribe and save programs offer customers discounts on repeat purchases, while subscription boxes are products curated to consumer preferences. The most overlooked yet fruitful offering is the membership model, which requires customers to sign up to receive exclusive access to deals, promotions, and support. Optimizing these offerings requires upselling and cross-selling products by building a community of brand advocates. You can also employ various communication touchpoints to deliver additional value. Join Aaron Conant in today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive as he speaks with Chase Alderton, Recharge’s Senior Partner and Field Marketing Manager, about building subscription models for customer retention and lifetime value. Chase shares strategies for boosting subscription revenue, examples of effective subscription models, and the importance of experimenting with various subscription programs.

Zach Riegle is the VP of Sales and Marketing at Blue Wheel Media, an omnichannel digital commerce agency delivering end-to-end D2C, retail, and marketplace solutions. He has held various roles at Blue Wheel, including Director of Digital Strategy and Director of Business Development. With experience in SEO, content, marketing automation, Amazon, social media, and digital strategy, Zach develops online strategies focused on eCommerce and lead generation. In this episode… In the digital marketing landscape, traditional creative strategies involve generating a comprehensive brand video for multiple social platforms. But this lacks consideration for audience segmentation and the nuances within each platform. How can you develop a digital-first creative strategy to increase conversions and ROI? Instead of reshooting videos and editing choppy footage, digital creative involves strategizing how to optimize content for each channel before developing a campaign. Digital marketer Zach Riegle maintains that each social platform has exclusive engagement methods, so you must produce consistent content to convey a cohesive brand story. For instance, TikTok is distinguished by social communities, so identifying and capitalizing on trends is crucial to reach target audiences. Ultimately, video content should generate at least a 20% click-through rate, where audiences watch three or more seconds, enhancing campaign efficiency. Join Aaron Conant in this episode of The Digital Deep Dive as he welcomes Zach Riegle, Blue Wheel Media’s VP of Sales and Marketing, who talks about the importance of digital creative strategies. Zach addresses how to analyze digital creative campaigns, techniques for generating TikTok content, and the future of TV advertising.

Adam Gausepohl is the CEO and Head of Creative and Social Strategy at PopShorts, a social media strategy and influencer marketing agency. As a leader in the social marketing space, he serves as a judge of The Shorty Awards, The Webby Awards, and The Lovie Awards. Adam was named a Forbes 30 Under 30 finalist in marketing and advertising and has crafted award-winning campaigns for the world’s largest brands, studios, and agencies. His past clients include NBC, Sony, Geico, Chase, Nordstrom, Ford, and Adobe. In this episode… Despite reports of a potential ban, TikTok remains one of the leading social media platforms, so brands must develop a strategy to engage their audiences. Influencer marketing has a high success rate on the platform, but selecting an ideal creator to boost campaign performance is essential. How can you optimize this approach to maximize ROAS and sales? Social media strategist Adam Gausepohl affirms that creating a viral video is not a necessary component in generating sales. Instead, you should identify a campaign objective so the TikTok algorithm displays your videos to the appropriate audience. When evaluating influencers, Adam recommends selecting creators who market to your target audience and align with your brand goals. Creating a high-performing campaign requires collaborating with creators to integrate your messaging with their style. In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant sits down with Adam Gausepohl, the CEO and Head of Creative and Social Strategy at PopShorts, to discuss best practices for influencer marketing. Adam shares how to generate audience engagement on TikTok, key metrics for evaluating TikTok campaign performance, and how influencer marketing has evolved.

Gautam Kanumuru is the Co-founder and CEO of Yogi, a product sentiment analysis platform that enables brands to gain deeper visibility into customer feedback and voice-of-customer. With a background in AI and natural language processing, he played a crucial role in developing Microsoft products, including Cortana and Xbox. Before co-founding Yogi, Gautam was the Vice President of Engineering at Clarke.ai and a Program Manager at Microsoft. In this episode… As the digital space becomes increasingly competitive, brands are harnessing customer-centric, data-driven growth strategies. Reviews and ratings have unexplored potential to implement rich feedback from shoppers, but this data source is underutilized as most brands emphasize insights from potential purchasers rather than existing customers. How are leading brands capitalizing on customer sentiment analysis to optimize products and drive sales? According to product sentiment specialist Gautam Kanumuru, reviews and ratings are more than a measurement of volume. Rather, these data sets provide insight into your products, enabling you to develop and improve PDPs, reframe product messaging based on majority feedback, and create ad campaigns for new product launches. A robust customer sentiment analysis approach involves utilizing automated platforms like Yogi to aggregate, prioritize, and disseminate data to meet customer expectations effectively. Join Aaron Conant in this episode of The Digital Deep Dive as he hosts Gautam Kanumuru, Yogi’s Co-founder and CEO, to address the value of reviews and ratings for product innovations and brand growth. Gautam shares best practices for evaluating reviews and ratings, how to experiment with AI for review analytics, and how data aggregation facilitates business growth.

Hannah Blackburn is the Co-founder and Director of The Hawkers Club, a company that helps vendors and sellers solve their most pressing challenges and navigate eCommerce marketplaces, including Amazon and Target. In her role, Hannah advises online sellers and vendors on how to directly position their brands and value offerings as Amazon partners to increase profitability and revenue. Before co-founding The Hawkers Club, she joined Amazon as a brand specialist with an initial focus on vendor excellence and marketing before transitioning to stock management and profitability. Since she’s written the business logic powering some of the algorithms that run Amazon, Hannah knows how you can systematically make profitable decisions that Amazon’s algorithms reward. In this episode… As brands seek to maximize profitability on Amazon, hidden fees, overcharges, and shortages remain a prevailing concern within the platform. How can you identify and address these chargebacks to structure your account spending? Although you may have a plan in place to mitigate chargebacks and shortages, Amazon expert and accounting veteran Hannah Blackburn says you can leverage additional strategies to safeguard your vendor central account. Amazon places fines and claims on each of its services that brands must recover. These include cost price claims, shipping costs for returns, unjustified provisional rates, overcharges on trading terms, and high direct fulfillment freight costs. When disputing these oversights, it’s essential to prepare invoices and present precise account data to prove your claims. You can also leverage Amazon’s various incentives to facilitate the dispute process. In today’s episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant sits down with Hannah Blackburn, the Co-founder and Director of The Hawkers Club, to discuss how to dispute Amazon fines. Hannah explains how to identify chargebacks, shortages, and fees on Amazon, considerations for fulfillment-related charges and shortages, and how to use automation to monitor purchase orders.